BENQ LR100
Price: Rs 8,900
Specs: Panasonic 14 MP 1/2.3 inch CMOS sensor, f = 4.6 ~ 23 mm, F= 3.2 (W) ~ 6.4 (T), ISO 6400 at 3MP, 1080p 30fps, SD card
Almost the entire entry-level digital camera segment has been wiped off by the improving quality of cameras in even the cheapest of phones. No one is now buying a compact camera that is priced under Rs 5,000 because it has just an 8MP sensor and very few features. BenQ is now offering a 14MP camera for under Rs 9,000 and it comes loaded with features. But remember, for the affordability there are some sacrifices that you will have to make.
The BenQ LR100 is one of the most compact cameras available at the moment and will easily slip into your jeans pocket. It is actually as portable as a phone and weighs just 100 grams. The LCD is 2.7 inches and 230k pixels. This is the sort of camera you would get a teenager as a birthday present. For it has every feature they would want. There are dozens of modes to play around with the picture, even before you start clicking. The zoom is just 5x, and considering the quality of the optics on the camera this is about the best it could do.
While you can really play around with shooting options and preset modes, the ultimate picture is not all that impressive. In fact, the image quality reminded us a lot of the Canon A400 which was among the first digital cameras to find mass base in India. The pictures are good if you plan to share it on social networking sites, but lack a bit of subtlety. Thanks to the 14MP you will be able to get decent sized prints from this camera. But low-light isn't one of its strong points.
But the HD video with watercolour mode will keep a lot of users happy. Such settings are usually seen for stills, rarely for video.
BAG IT OR JUNK IT? Buy it as a first camera, not as an upgrade
